Rene (78), my mother,  is up a little later than usual, she reached the landing when a woman’s voice on the stairs behind her asks if she can use the bathroom. Rene, who is taken aback,  thought she would be the one doing the spooking whilst barefoot in her goonie with cloud of grey hair and her pearls

Thinking that James (74), my uncle,  had directed the woman to the upstairs bathroom, Rene redirected her to the downstairs one

James is at the Aga when a woman walks into the kitchen and asks if she can use the bathroom. He shows her the bathroom, which she ignores and then follows him back to the Aga.

Neither Rene nor James have met or seen this woman before in their lives but each thinks the other has. She says she’s been into the studio and the gallery and that she is overwhelmed by the creativity she has stumbled across. She says she’s seen paintings and the sculptures

She announces that she is an artist too. She asks James ‘Would you like to see my portfolio?’ James,  getting increasing confused, disinterestedly replies ‘No, I’m watching the tennis!’  ‘Is it Nadal?’ She questions

Rene comes in to the kitchen and the realisation is clear that this is a random person who has just walked in through our front door

She said she’d walked up from town. A turban of a scarf contained a mop of black hair, her eyes were like a snowman’s. A full length green coat revealed her spindly legs in tights that seemed incapable of supporting their load

She walked in while there were two cars parked at the front of the house and two at the stables. I was working up there at time. There was a stove blazing in the lobby and the Davis Cup was on full blast in the kitchen

James told her to come back when the Daffodils come out

What is slightly concerning is that this story unraveled so far before anyone suspected it had gone beyond the norm for here.

I see this on my screen..

<div id=”yiv1323149838AppleMailSignature”>Rene (78), my mother, is up a little later than usual, she reached the landing when a woman’s voice on the stairs behind her asks if she can use the bathroom. Rene, who is taken aback, thought she would be the one doing the spooking whilst barefoot in her goonie with cloud of grey hair and her pearls.</div>
<div id=”yiv1323149838AppleMailSignature”></div>
<div id=”yiv1323149838AppleMailSignature”>Thinking that James (74), my uncle, had directed the woman to the upstairs bathroom, Rene redirected her to the downstairs one.</div>
<div id=”yiv1323149838AppleMailSignature”></div>
<div id=”yiv1323149838AppleMailSignature”>James is at the Aga when a woman walks into the kitchen and asks if she can use the bathroom. He shows her the bathroom, which she ignores and then follows him back to the Aga.</div>
<div id=”yiv1323149838AppleMailSignature”></div>
<div id=”yiv1323149838AppleMailSignature”>Neither Rene nor James have met or seen this woman before in their lives but each thinks the other has. She says she’s been into the studio and the gallery and that she is overwhelmed by the creativity she has stumbled across. She says she’s seen paintings and the sculptures.</div>
<div id=”yiv1323149838AppleMailSignature”></div>
<div id=”yiv1323149838AppleMailSignature”>She announces that she is an artist too. She asks James ‘Would you like to see my portfolio?’ James, getting increasing confused, disinterestedly replies ‘No, I’m watching the tennis!’ ‘Is it Nadal?’ She questions</div>
<div id=”yiv1323149838AppleMailSignature”></div>
<div id=”yiv1323149838AppleMailSignature”>Rene comes in to the kitchen and the realisation is clear that this is a random person who has just walked in through our front door.</div>
<div id=”yiv1323149838AppleMailSignature”></div>
<div id=”yiv1323149838AppleMailSignature”>She said she’d walked up from town. A turban of a scarf contained a mop of black hair, her eyes were like a snowman’s. A full length green coat revealed her spindly legs in tights that seemed incapable of supporting their load.</div>
<div id=”yiv1323149838AppleMailSignature”></div>
<div id=”yiv1323149838AppleMailSignature”>She walked in while there were two cars parked at the front of the house and two at the stables. I was working up there at time. There was a stove blazing in the lobby and the Davis Cup was on full blast in the kitchen.</div>
<div id=”yiv1323149838AppleMailSignature”></div>
<div id=”yiv1323149838AppleMailSignature”>James told her to come back when the Daffodils come out.</div>
<div id=”yiv1323149838AppleMailSignature”></div>
<div id=”yiv1323149838AppleMailSignature”>What is slightly concerning is that this story unraveled so far before anyone suspected it had gone beyond the norm for here.</div>

WTF is going on with this bloody forum?

How do I copy and paste this without all the code? Things were so much easier before the update.

Some selecting and deleting just made my OP readable before the edit window closed

Your mother should just walk away.

James should sit down.

Forum editing issues aside . . .

Was she a junky or just a nut-job, do you reckon?

Personally, I’d probably be reviewing the security of the place.

I think she was someone with mental health issues, she wasn’t at all malicious. She was in her late fifties or early sixties. Had there been any doubt we would have called the police immediately.

We are much more conscious of our security as a consequence.

So who won the tennis ?

How do I copy and paste this without all the code? Things were so much easier before the update.

Same way I just copied and pasted the above quote?

Nothing on this forum makes sense any more. The formatting. The posts themselves. The world has turned upside down.

What ducking tennis?  🎾